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3 Strategies for Best Productivity

Written by Ellie Rizzo |
July 11, 2014

Improving time management through maximizing productivity is one of the more difficult challenges people face in the workplace. The following are strategies for analyzing and improving individual productivity, adapted from an article in Forbes.

1. Identify your perfectly productive environment. Spend some time thinking about physically and mentally where, when and in how you are most productive. While it may not be possible to always work in that environment, there is no reason why you can't get as close as possible. Request to work at home, if that's most productive, or work an hour or two from a café. Vary your locations when you need, or block out periods of undisturbed time to get concentrated work done.

2. Know the 80-20 rule. That is, 80 percent of work is produced by 20 percent of efforts. This is also known as the Pareto principle. Keeping this rule of thumb in mind can help you focus work and identify potential sources of problems more efficiently.

3. Contain preventable distractions. While it's impossible to eliminate distractions entirely, commit to remaining focused on the task at hand by only using what you need. Don't browse the internet, answer your phone or have unscheduled business calls. Minimizing the chance you'll be randomly disturbed will increase your productivity.